The Truth

1 John 1:1

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;"

We studied the events of the first Easter morning in Matthew’s Gospel. The women were the first to proclaim Christianity’s central truth: “He has risen from the dead.”

From that moment, the Gospel spread rapidly. Jesus appeared to Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus. That evening, He showed Himself to the Ten in a locked room, displaying His hands and side and eating broiled fish to prove He was no ghost. Eight days later, He appeared to Thomas. By the Sea of Galilee, He met seven disciples, provided a miraculous catch of 153 fish, restored Peter, and recommissioned him with the words, “Feed My sheep.” Finally, He appeared to all eleven disciples and more than 500 others, issuing the Great Commission.

Over the forty days before His ascension, Jesus made numerous public appearances witnessed by many. As the resurrection accounts spread, no one refuted them. Instead, people confirmed the testimony.

The Apostles, the core eyewitnesses, went on to suffer persecution and martyrdom for proclaiming this message. They would not have died for something they knew was false.

Today’s verse highlights both the eternal nature of Jesus Christ and the apostles’ eyewitness testimony. John declares that he and the other disciples personally heard, saw, closely observed, and touched “the Word of life”—the eternal Son who existed with the Father before creation. This firsthand, sensory witness affirms the reality of the incarnation: Jesus was not a spirit, vision, or myth, but truly became flesh. John’s testimony directly countered early heresies like Docetism, which claimed Christ only appeared human. It establishes the foundation of Christian faith in a real, historical, and divine Savior.